


Third time lucky

by Merry_rf



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Flirting, Fluff, Job Interview, M/M, Missed Connection, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Reunions, mentions of past injury and recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 12:32:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merry_rf/pseuds/Merry_rf
Summary: What do you do when you discover your interviewer for a new job is an old friend, that you alsomighthave had a fling with? Bucky hopes flirting might work...





	Third time lucky

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on this one for awhile, but with all the Tumblr gloom this week, I thought some fluff was needed! Thank you to [roe87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87) for beta reading :)

Bucky shifted nervously in his seat. Fuck, he wanted this job. He was sick of Rumlow, his odious line manager. Back when he’d first started at his current job, they had gone on one coffee date, where Rumlow had insulted the very busy waitstaff for being too slow, and refused to leave a tip.

Bucky had declined a second date.

At work, he’d quickly discovered that Rumlow treated most of his subordinates in a similar fashion. Bucky couldn’t stand him, nor the never-ending political machinations of the corporate managers, especially the CEO Alexander Pierce.

He’d been promised great things at Hydra Informatics, but he’d never been advanced. Some of the work they did was for shady companies too, which left Bucky feeling slightly dirty.

Put all that plus the Brock situation together, and Bucky had had enough, he wanted out.

His first two interviews for new jobs had not gone so well, but Bucky considered them practice for this, a development analyst position at Stark Industries, which he really, really wanted.

Since Tony Stark had moved to clean energy solutions, the work they had been producing was much more exciting in Bucky's opinion. He really hoped he could be a part of it.

So here he was, in his best suit waiting for an interview. He clenched his left hand on his knee, trying not to freak out. He could do this.

The receptionist at the desk called his name, and he stood to follow her to the interview room. Inside was a slender brunette, hair coiffed in a perfect French roll and... Steve Rogers.

Steve Rogers, looking immaculate in a dark blue suit, crisp white shirt and pale grey tie. The ensemble brought out the blue in Steve’s eyes. His hair was longer than when Bucky had last seen him, and he’d grown a beard.

Apparently Bucky had a thing for Steve Rogers with a beard. He licked his lips.

Steve’s sharp intake of breath jolted Bucky from his thoughts. He obviously hadn't expected to see Bucky either. And eye-fucking an interviewer was probably not the best idea Bucky had ever had.

Steve turned to speak with the woman. “Sorry, Maria, I have to sit this interview out. I know…” he glanced at the papers in front of him. “...James, and I don't think I can be impartial.”

“I'll have to get Pepper,” the woman, Maria, replied, sounding terse.

“Well, that’s what you get for calling me in at the last minute to help with interviews, and giving me no prep time,” Steve said. He turned to Bucky with a polite smile. “Why don't we have a quick catch-up while Maria sorts out another interviewer?” He stood and motioned for Bucky to leave the room, all cool professionalism. It was remarkably different from the last time he and Steve had been together.

The last time they had seen each other was three years ago on a sun-kissed beach on the Mediterranean. They had been on a bus tour in Europe for two weeks, exploring on the coasts of Spain, France, and Italy.

Before that, Bucky had last seen Steve when he was fifteen, Steve fourteen, waving from the back of the Barnes’ station wagon as they departed Brooklyn for Indiana. Despite their shared childhood in Brooklyn, they had drifted apart when Bucky’s family moved. Bucky had moved back to New York after college, but never encountered Steve.

Running into each other in Europe in their mid-twenties had been a total coincidence. As they had already known each other, they’d decided to share a room, rather than bunking with a stranger. Upon realising that they were both interested in men, they’d quickly tumbled into bed together.

It had been two of the best weeks of Bucky’s life. Between sightseeing in beautiful places during the day, and getting to know Steve again at night (not just physically), Bucky had the perfect holiday romance he'd never expected to have.

On the last day, he’d left Steve sitting on the beach in Sorrento. Steve had two days left in Italy, but Bucky had to return to work.

They’d exchanged numbers, and Steve had promised to call Bucky once he was back in New York. But. Bucky had got into a car accident on his way home from the airport. His left arm had been crushed and he’d sustained a bad concussion making his memory a bit scattered for a couple of weeks after the crash. He’d initially forgotten his vacation and Steve for the first week, apart from flashes of blue eyes glinting above him.

Bucky’s phone had been destroyed in the accident, along with his only method of contacting Steve. Once he was out of hospital, memories recovered, though only at the beginning of his rehabilitation journey for his arm, he’d tried to find Steve, to let him know what happened.

But Steve didn’t appear to be on Facebook, and Bucky couldn’t find an obvious instagram or twitter account for Steve. Steve was probably on social media somewhere, but the punk probably had a clever pseudonym that Bucky couldn’t easily find.

Bucky had hoped to find Steve somehow, maybe through mutual friends, or just bumping into him on the subway. He would apologise to Steve and hope they could get a coffee together, maybe more.

But three years later, and Steve was interviewing him for a new job which he really, really wanted?

Not ideal circumstances to rekindle (albeit a very brief) romance. Besides which, Steve had probably moved on by now, as who wouldn't want to snatch up such a wonderful guy?

In the hallway, Steve gave Bucky a quick smile. “It's nice to see you again, Bucky. Or should I call you James, like on your resumé?”

Bucky smiled back weakly. “Bucky... it’s not the most professional sounding name for a job application y’know. But with friends—it’s Bucky, definitely.”

"I tried to call you, but you never answered.”

And wasn’t that just like Steve, upfront and to the point.

“Yeah, my phone got smashed, this probably sounds like a really lame excuse, but it's a bit of a long story…” Bucky looked hopefully at Steve, but his expression gave nothing away. “I looked for your best I could, but you’re not on Facebook. Who isn't on Facebook our age? And we don't seem to have any friends in common, so I just hoped I'd see you again. Though maybe not quite like this.” Bucky's brain finally caught up with something Steve had said earlier. “Wait, did you say, Pepper, before? As in, Pepper Potts?”

Bucky was starting to freak out again. Was he to about be interviewed by Pepper Potts?

Steve’s smile was more genuine this time. “Yeah, but Pepper’s great. You’ll have no trouble impressing her Buck.” He sighed a little. “Sorry for disrupting the things but I just didn't think it would be right for me to interview you.” That was just like Steve too. Moral and true to the core.

“Yeah, probably not. What's your position here anyway? Would I be reporting to you?” As much as Bucky liked Steve, being his subordinate would definitely rule out any chance of dating him. The brief thing he’d had with Rumlow had taught him that lesson.

“No, I head up one of the teams in the marketing division that works closely with the team you’d be in. Phil, the manager for development team called in sick, so they asked me to fill in for him. I didn't have time to look through the candidate list or I wouldn't have been here when you came in…” Steve paused, and then clearly made a decision. “I’m glad it worked out this way though.” Steve’s smile this time had a little something more to it. Maybe something flirty?

High heels clicking down the hallway announced the presence of Pepper Potts. “Hello, Steve. And hello, you must be James. I’m sorry for the delay. Maria and I will call for you in a moment.” She strode into the interview room.

Bucky gulped and looked at Steve. “Wish me luck?”

“You’ll be fine.”

Bucky was about to suggest exchanging numbers, when he heard Maria say, “James, we’re ready for you now.” He gave Steve a slightly panicked look and went to face his fate.

***

Somehow, it all went perfectly. He was able to talk up all the best projects he’d worked on, he was articulate, said nothing weird or awkward, and when he was asked for suggestions for S.I.’s business development plan, Pepper and Maria had shared a thoughtful glance. Pepper had quizzed him further on his ideas and had a smile on her face by the end of it.

“Thank you, James. We’ll be in touch. Please, ask Steve to come back in on your way out, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Bucky walked out, slightly dazed as the adrenaline slowly receded from his system. Steve was out in the waiting room, flipping through a magazine. “How did you do?” he asked.

“Good, I think. Not a total idiot.”

Steve grinned. “I could’ve told you that.”

“They want you back in there. And I need a coffee. I don't suppose…” Bucky trailed off, and then summoned his courage once again. “Do you want to get a drink with me sometime? Regardless of what happens today?”

“I’d really like that, Bucky. I should be done here soon, you were the last candidate. Would you like to meet me for a coffee downstairs? There’s a café called ‘Has Bean’ in the lobby.” Seeing Bucky's eye roll at the name he grimaced. “Tony’s a fan of terrible food-related puns. The Mexican restaurant is called ‘Something to Taco ’bout.’”

“Ugh,” Bucky grimaced in jest.

“I know. I’ll see you there, yeah?” Steve gave Bucky a three-fingered salute in farewell.

Bucky nodded and watched Steve walk away. Some people might have thought Steve’s suit trousers were tailored slightly too tight. Bucky wasn't one of them.

At the Has Bean, Bucky ordered a hot chocolate. After his nervousness earlier, caffeine felt like the last thing he needed. Twenty minutes later, Steve appeared with a smile on his face. “I’m glad you're here. Tell me what's been happening since I last saw you in Italy.”

So Bucky began, telling Steve about the accident, his injury and picking up the pieces afterwards. His current job and why he'd hoped to find something new at Stark Industries.

Steve, as it turned out, had tried to find Bucky too, but it had been while Bucky had been in hospital, and Bucky had then gone back to his parents in Indiana for a bit to recover. Figuring Bucky was ghosting him, Steve had given up.

“You didn't think to look on Facebook?” Bucky asked.

“Not really. I’ve never had it. I don't use social media much for my personal life, because I use it so much for work. It just feels like more work, you know.”

Bucky nodded along. God forbid anyone separate him from his instagram. Or tumblr. Or twitter. Good thing he didn’t work in marketing.

“And, I thought that maybe you had ghosted me. So, I stopped looking.” Steve laughed awkwardly. “So... are you seeing anyone?” Steve asked. Bucky blinked. Once again, Steve had cut to the chase.

“Not at the moment, no.” He drew in a breath. “Are you?” Steve couldn't possibly be single, could he?

“Still single.”

“That is a tragedy, Steve, it truly is,” Bucky said with a wink. In his pocket, Bucky’s phone began to ring. It was an unknown, but local number. “Sorry, I better take this.” He swiped to answer. “Hello?”

“James Barnes? This is Maria Hill, from your interview.”

Bucky sucked in a breath. “Hello, good to hear from you,” he said evenly, silently thinking how it was never good to hear back this quickly. He can’t have got the job.

“I won’t be offering you the analyst position,” Maria said and Bucky closed his eyes in resignation. “We felt it wasn’t the right fit for someone of your experience. What we would like to offer you is a team leader position within the development unit. You’ve got great ideas and Pepper and I think you could go far at Stark Industries.”

Bucky’s eyes opened in shock. A different position? A better position? How was this happening?

Across from him, Steve’s eyes twinkled at him from above his coffee cup. Clearly the punk knew what was going on.

“That sounds amazing. I accept, thank you very much, I don’t know what to say.”

“Can you start in two weeks?” Maria asked.

“Yes.” Working out his two weeks notice at Hydra was going to be his best two weeks ever spent there.

“Excellent. We’ll see you Monday in two weeks. H.R. will be in touch with the details. See you then.” Maria ended the call.

Bucky put his phone down and looked at Steve, bemused. “You knew.”

“Well, yes, but it's not like I had anything to do with it. Pepper loved your ideas and wanted to keep you. She certainly doesn’t want Hydra to use you against us.”

Bucky sat back in his chair. “So, team leader. Is that similar to your position?”

“Yes, it is. Same level within the management structure, more or less.”

Bucky finally let his eyes do what they’d wanted to do the whole time he’d been sitting with Steve. He looked over Steve’s body, the clean lines of his suit, the hint of muscle at his shoulders and chest that the tailoring couldn’t quite hide—though maybe that was the intention. He looked at Steve’s beard, and started to think about what that might feel like against his skin.

Steve’s cheeks started to turn pink.

“Tell me, Steve, what’s the S.I. policy on interoffice relationships?”

“So long as you’re not directly working with each other, it's usually fine. Why do you ask?” Steve said, a smirk on his face.

“I'd like to take you out. I've got a new job to celebrate, and three years of accidentally ghosting you to make up for.”

Steve’s smile lit his whole face. “I'd really like that, Buck.”

***

And that was the third time Bucky met Steve Rogers.

By their third week of dating, it felt like they’d never been apart. Three months into their relationship, Steve whispered “I love you,” one night, as they lay together, sweaty and basking in the afterglow of an enthusiastic round of sex. He said it tentatively, as though he wasn’t sure what Bucky would think. Bucky turned in Steve’s arms a kissed him, pouring all the love and affection he could into the kiss. “I love you too, punk.”

Their relationship progressed. They moved in together, had another amazing overseas vacation together, and their ordinary life together felt like the most extraordinarily wonderful thing Bucky had ever experienced.

When people asked how they met, Steve would say, “The first time, second time, or third time?” And at the inevitable look of confusion, Bucky would clarify, “Well, the third time, that was the lucky one.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still on [tumblr](https://merryrf.tumblr.com/), and also now [twitter](https://twitter.com/Merryrf2)!


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